Nike to Kick Off Product Launches with Twitter

This Week’s Top Story:

Nike, ever an innovator in the digital realm, has implemented a Twitter RSVP system for product launches in anticipation of this summer’s release of the Jordan Air Brand Yeezy 2, signature shoe of rapper Kanye West. This system will kick off at several participating retail stores that will send a tweet out alerting people to reserve their pair. Users will be required to promptly (within 60 minutes) respond with a direct message and await an alert from the store as to whether their shoe has been reserved. The user will then have to pick up the shoe in person and present a valid ID to claim the product.

This is not Nike’s first venture in handling limited product releases by online means. A couple of months ago they auctioned off a selection of Back to the Future inspired Nike MAGs on eBay.

We’re excited to see how successful Nike’s use of Twitter for the sales process is and whether it alleviates the issues we’ve seen in the past with overnight stays on long lines for not just Nike, but other popular brands like Apple.

Newsworthy Tidbits:

In the days after Instagram’s $1 billion acquisition by Facebook, user growth has shot up quickly. Instagram has gained more than 10 million users, launching the total number to more than 40 million.

Apple came under fire this week for their deals with publishers regarding ebooks. Apparently, Apple only agreed to sell ebooks at the publisher price if each publisher could guarantee that all other partners would also stick to that price, which subsequently undermined Amazon’s strategy of selling at wholesale price. The outcome of this situation could turn the ebook industry on it’s head, as Amazon would be allowed to downsize their prices.

In an even further integration of Open Graph technology, Facebook has partnered with Spotify and other music services to implement a ‘Listen’ button on many artist and band pages. Clicking ‘Listen’ will launch a music player and instantly play a track from that artist or band.

Be On the Lookout:

Apple has filed for a patent for a platform that will allow non-developers to design and create iOS apps, a move that would undoubtedly create a surge in apps (for better or for worse) by those without the distinct technical ability to develop their ideas.

The Republican Party has announced that Google will serve as their official social platform during the Republican National Convention in August. Politicians of the GOP will be utilizing Google to keep voters engaged throughout the convention, essentially giving them a front row seat.

Hulu announced this week that moving forward, they will only charge advertisers for full views of their ads.